Will the interval for additional vaccinations be shortened... "Decision on shortening to be announced next week"

Expected Reduction from 6 Months to 5 Months
"Significant Consensus Has Been Formed"

Additional Vaccination Reservations via SNS Available from the 12th

On the 8th, when the additional COVID-19 vaccination (booster shot) began for Janssen vaccine recipients and inpatients, residents, and workers of nursing hospitals and nursing facilities, a Janssen vaccine recipient is receiving an additional vaccination at Yonsei With ENT Clinic in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The interval for additional COVID-19 vaccinations (booster shots), currently set at 6 months, is likely to be shortened to 5 months. Health authorities plan to make a final decision on the booster shot interval and announce it next week.

On the 11th, Kim Ki-nam, head of the Vaccination Planning Division at the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, stated at the regular COVID-19 briefing, "After discussions at the Vaccination Expert Committee, the final decision regarding the shortening of the booster shot interval will be announced next week."

Kim also said, "Currently, expert opinions and discussions are ongoing regarding the shortening of the booster shot interval. A recent meeting of vaccine expert advisory groups was held, and at that meeting, experts largely agreed on the need to advance the timing of booster shots for the elderly and others, considering the increase in breakthrough infections due to the spread of the Delta variant and other quarantine situations, compared to the current 6-month interval after completing the initial vaccination."

Currently, health authorities have begun shortening the booster shot interval starting from the 10th for workers and inpatients at long-term care hospitals. Although the booster shot interval is generally 6 months after completing the primary vaccination, due to frequent cluster infections in group facilities such as long-term care hospitals, authorities decided to advance the vaccination interval by 4 weeks for these groups.

Previously, the Clalit Research Institute in Israel and a research team from Harvard University in the United States announced research results showing that booster shots administered to those who completed two doses of the Pfizer vaccine reduced hospitalization rates, severity, and mortality. Based on this, authorities are actively encouraging booster vaccinations. According to the findings, those who received booster shots had a 93% lower risk of infection and complications, a 92% lower risk of severe illness, and about an 81% lower mortality rate compared to those who completed vaccination 5 months earlier.

On the 8th, when the additional COVID-19 vaccination (booster shot) began for Janssen vaccine recipients and inpatients, residents, and workers of nursing hospitals and nursing facilities, a Janssen vaccine recipient is receiving a booster shot at Yonsei With ENT Clinic in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Meanwhile, starting from the 12th, additional vaccinations can also be booked on the same day using leftover vaccine reservation services on social networking services (SNS) such as Naver and Kakao. Until now, booster shot recipients had to individually contact medical institutions and use waiting lists to receive vaccinations using leftover vaccines.

Kim Ki-nam stated, "Through functional improvements between the COVID-19 vaccination system and the same-day leftover vaccine reservation services on Naver and KakaoTalk, booster shot recipients can now also make reservations for leftover vaccines."

The reservation method is the same as for the first and second primary vaccinations, and only those designated as eligible for booster shots can make leftover vaccine reservations if they have completed their vaccinations. If a booster shot pre-reservation has already been made, making a same-day reservation through leftover vaccines will automatically cancel the existing booster shot reservation.

Kim predicted, "With booster shots now available for same-day reservation via SNS, in addition to reservations through the COVID-19 pre-reservation website, those who can receive vaccinations on the same day will be able to get booster shots more conveniently."